
CoEyright N° llAl. 

COKOilGHT DEPOSIT. 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 



TOMMY" RHYMES 



BY 

ARTHUR V. DIEHL 




BOSTON 

MARSHALL JONES COMPANY 

1921 



^^^ 



COPYRIGHT- 19 2 I 
BY MARSHALL JONES COMPANY 



THE PLIMPTON PRESS 
NORWOOD-MASS*U*S'A 



AUG 20 1921 

e)Cl.A622474 



••vw 



I 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Prologue 1 

In Flanders 4 

Yer Money or Yer Life 6 

Reminiscence 10 

The Spy 12 

On the Jambouree 16 

Tommy Searches 18 

On the Tryne 21 

Softie 25 

Rats 27 

On 'Ampstead 'Eath 30 

'Arf a Notion 33 

The Lucky Blighter 35 

'Ow Abaht THE Cook? 38 

Tommy During a Thunderstorm .... 42 

The World's Reorganizin' 45 

Tryin' ter Ferget 47 

Tommy to 'Is Wife . . .... 48 

[v] 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Tommy's Fall 61 

Tommy Won't Agree 54 

The 'Arp of 'Eving 57 

Sissy, the Pink-un 59 

Tommy of the Sub 64 

Tommy Wonders 67 

Tommy' Blinded 70 

The Woman Hater 73 

Tommy Thinks it Out 76 

Mud 80 

The Harvest 83 

'Tis They Who Went 86 

He of Labor — and He of Capital ... 88 



[vi] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 



PROLOGUE 

iM 'ERE ter be dictyted to, I'm Tommy on the 

square, 
I don't know nothink, who I am, nor do I really care ; 
I only know that on this pyge I orter come ter life, 
Becos' the feller carvin' me 'as sharpened up 'is 

knife ; 

'E trims me words so careful like, and cuts out all 

the damns, 
'E just won't 'ave me cuss and swear, but squats 

me on me 'ams, 
And says ter me: "Now look 'ere, boy, — yer really 

must be'ave, 
Fer I 'ave took the liberty of givin' yer a shave. 

So please tyke notice from this out — yer got ter act 

yer part 
By cuttin' out and trimmin' down all cuss words 

from the start; 

[1] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

And then, I'll 'ave yer know, I want the everlastin' 

you, 
And not the dirt and camouflage which mykes yer 

look askew. 

I want the 'eart and soul of all j^er really think and 

feel; 
And if yer'll give that there ter me, — why, just this 

much, you're real; 
You'll live and breathe upon the pyge, and every 

one will 'ear 
The message that yer wants ter write, and 'ear it 

very clear. 

Now aint it worth yer while ter try and do yer wery 

best — 
Fergettin' why yer body sleeps, and why yer went 

out west? 
You are an 'ero, now, "says 'e," and died fer all of 

us! — 
"All right, "says I, "I'll do me best, fer better or 

fer wuss." 

So 'ere I am, the 'ole of me, dear lydies and dear 

gents, 
And please ferget the w'y I looks, in patches and in 

rents ; 

[2] 



PROLOGUE 

I earned 'em all, yuss, one by one, all through the 

blinkin' war — 
And now I've introdooced meself, I'd better s'y no 

more, 
But act the part of all of us, as went the self syme 

w'y, 
Ter find the only think worth while, the truth we 

knows ter-d'y. 



[ 3 ] 



'TOMMY" RHYMES 



IN FLANDERS 

jt\ PORE little shiverin waif 'e wos, 

lorlummy ! 'ow 'aggard and pale, 
A crawlin' around on 'is 'ands and knees 

and a travelin' like a snail, 
But I couldn't 'ave fathomed the look in 'is eyes 

unless I 'ad gone ter war, 
They wos wiser by far than an 'undred years, 

aye, 'undreds, and then some more. 
'E wos smeared ter the innerds wif Flarnders mud 

and covered with pimply sores, 
'T wos all on account of the grub as 'e got 

a festerin' through 'is pores. 
And 'e clutched to 'is bosom an 'arf dead cat — 

and the two of 'em looked alike — 
There wos 'ell in their eyes, as we sloppered erlong, 

the regiment on the 'ike. 

It's a curious thing that I never fergit 

the look in that 'ere kid's eyes. 
Nor the look in the cat's, fer the matter o' that 

and yer couldn't 'ave called it wise, 
And yer couldn't 'ave said 'twas a cowerin' fear, 

or even a look of fright, 

[4] 



IN FLANDERS 

But a bit of 'em all, wif an extra thing, 
a kind of a "second sight" — 

You can s'y wot yer like, you can think as yer 

please, 

you can 'old up me words ter scorn — 
But the kid and the cat saw the end of the world 

as surely as you wos born ; 
They wos innercent things in the middle of 'ell, 

and Gawd wos a speakin' there, 
A tykin' them out of the jaws of death, 

to a plyce where there's peace — fer fair. 



[ 5 ] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

YER MONEY OR YER LIFE 

X 'AVEN'T got a lot of brains, not 'arf enough 

ter see 
The reason why we went ter war, except, 'tween you 

and me. 
We acted rather like a kid who's bullied at 'is school, 
So wants ter fight, regardless, when 'e's treated like 

a mule. 

The bully always 'as the most of everythink 'e craves. 
Until a bigger bully comes; just as the bigger waves 
Will swaller up the littler ones when there's a storm 

at sea. 
Or bigger fish eat littler fish, or so it seems ter me. 

If I 'ad got a lot of brains, I'd search around ter find 
The reason why one thing is first, and why one's 

left be'ind; 
I wouldn't be quite satisfied until I got ter know 
Why we must use a bigger fist ter down the bigger 

blow. 

The 'Uns were wrong ter fight at all, but we, I must 
suppose 

[ 6 ] ! 



YER MONEY OR YER LIFE 

Were really, truly, more than right ter fell 'em with 

our blows ; 
And yet, oh 'ell! it's 'ard ter know — the 'Un said: — 

'might is right,' 
And we said: 'No, fer right is might, then started 

out ter fight. 

And now the war is over with, the fightin's just 

begun 
And 'eving knows, I'm sure I don't, when scrappin' 

will be done ; 
We'll firstly 'ave ter figure out the Av'y ter 'old our 

peace 
Is chuckin' out our interest, or we shall never cease. 

Fer money is the bully now, and interest its fists. 
If I could down it, I should like ter enter in the 

lists 
Ter prove a man could live without the money which 

'e steals 
By striking down the poorer man with money in 

'is deals. 

For money is the ghost be'ind the conscience of the 

man; 
'E looks around and finds 'e 'as ter 'ave it if 'e can; 

[7] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

'E finds 'e's glued ter common things without it, to 

be shore, 
And so 'e listens ter its voice, and listens more and 

more. 

It tells 'im first there's somethin' wrong with 'im 

who 'asn't got 
Enough ter buy the 'appiness which ought ter be 'is 

lot; 
Then, not content with this, it adds ; 'There aint no 

blintin' God 
Exceptin' me, so don't fergit 'tis me who 'olds the 

rod. 

I am the pow'r — I rule the world — all men must bow 

ter me — 
And I can buy the best of men, and women likewise, 

see, 
You knows I'm tellin' yer thei truth — you went 

through four years 'ell 
Ter 'elp ter put me on me throne, and did it very 

well. 

So now, me boy, you'd better use the little brains 
you've got 

[8] 



YER MONEY OR YER LIFE 

To serve yourself by servin' me, and get your wit- 
ties 'ot, 

For you're alive, and I can buy your 'unger or your 
bread ; 

So myke yer choice and do it quick — yer'll be a long 
time dead. 



[9] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 



REMINISCENCE 



A. 



.N 'Un's an 'UN ! Gorblimy ! Don't fergit ! 
Yer think yer myde 'im over ! Wy te a bit 
'E'll come agyne ! Yer 'aven't licked 'im yet. 
'E's 'ardly touched, and that's the worst of it. 

And 'ere I am, a grocer. Not 'arf, I aint, — 
I carnt fergit, yer see. I tell yer wot 
The sight of blood once used ter myke me faint- 
And now I 'ungers for it, quite a lot. 

I'm like a beast that's tysted blood, yer know, 
Just raw fer more. I give me wife a fright 
And wyke the kids quite offen when I go 
A shoutin' and a swearin', in the night. 

Across the bloody wire. It's all a dream — 
I knows it is ; but tell me, wot's the dif 
Between a dream that wykes yer up ter scream 
And wot it wos — the syme old bang and biff.'' 

I wosn't 'it. I'm 'ere ter tell the tyle. 
But Gawd ! 'ow many of 'em 'ad ter die ! 

[10] 



REMINISCENCE 

Fer what ! Just nothink ! That's wot mykes me 

rile. 
And this 'ere League of Nations, oh my eye ! 

It fair gives me the 'ump. I'll stow me garf 
Or I might s'y too much. America ! 
Oh, wot's the use. You're right, it is to larf, 
Though I'm not syin' Wilson aint a star. 

Wot do I think of most since this 'ere war.'' 
Just this : I'd like ter 'ear the squelchin' noise 
Beneath me bayonet; — ter see the gore 
Pump aht and soak the mud; — ter see the boys 

Come back ter life that's dead and gone, — that's 

wot; — 
And arter that ter wipe the bloody 'Uns 
Clean off the earth fer good and all ; ter pot 
A few meself, and die among the guns. 

That's all. I'm just a grocer, bless yer 'eart; 
Just standin' 'ere and weighin' pounds of tea. 
This world's a rummy one. I'll play me part, — 
And die a grocer yet, it seems ter me. 



[11] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

THE SPY J 

I J ON't ever show me lydies ears, leastways, not 

white and cold, 
They'd set me creepin' any time, if they wos young 

or old; 
I'd 'ave ter start ter thinkin' back across the passin' 

years 
Ter see an 'uddled figure and the whiteness of its 

ears. 

There aint no bloomin' story much connected with the 

gell, 
She wos a woman spy, I knows, indeed I knows too 

well, 
Fer I wos detailed on the squad as sent 'er to 'er 

doom. 
And I can see 'er standin' 'ere, yuss, right in this 

'ere room. 

This 'ere's the funny part of it, we didn't know 'er 

sex 
Until the thing wos over with, or we'd 'ave broke our 

necks 
Before we'd shoot a woman down, as 'adn't done no 

more 

[12] 



THE SPY 

Than love a blinkin' *Un too much, and prove it to 
the core. 

She'd myde a pal of all of us, and acted it so smart, 
We really 'adn't no idea that she just played 'er 

part; 
She 'adn't myde a single slip, until, one quiet night 
We caught 'er at a telephone she'd 'idden out of 

sight. 

'Twas Capting Jones from Camden Town who *eard 

'er talkin' 'Un 
In our communicytion trench, and this is what 'e 

done, 
'E clapped 'is pistol to 'er 'ead, — still thinkin' 'er a 

boy, — 
And marched 'er to 'Eadquarters at the muzzle of 'is 

toy. 

Well, arter that, of course we knowed the 'ist'ry of 
'er end 

Yet all of us wos 'oping that the capting would un- 
bend; 

But no, they soon court-marshalled 'er, and sentenced 
'er to die 

Fer practicin' espionage, when dawn showed in the 
sky. 

[13] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

I never carnt ferget the march that mornin' in the 

rain 
With 'er between the lot of us, nor shall I see again 
A little chin 'eld 'igher in the raw and chilly air, 
Or see a smile so confident, no matter 'oa,^ or where. 

She wouldn't 'ave no 'andkerchief nor nothink on 'er 

eyes, 
But fyced us all with levelled guns without the least 

surprise : 
"Good-bye," says she, as calm as that, "you're not 

a doin' wrong, 
"Fer I'm an 'Un and proud of it," she added clear 

and strong. 

I think she said those words to us ter myke us shoot 
ter kill, 

Becos' she saw us waverin' and lookin' sick and ill 

Ter see 'er standin' there so sweet — a bonnie, win- 
some slip. 

And know that we must cut 'er off, by silencin' 'er 
lip. 

The order cyme, and down she went, a riddled 
through and through. 

And when the orficer stepped back, why 'ell, we knew, 
we knew, 

[14] 



THE SPY 

By seein' of 'is 'aggard fyce, it wos a woman there 
A lyin' in an 'uddled 'eap, all crumpled up fer fair. 

Not 'arf a sickly crowd, m'ybe, not 'arf, so strike me 

pink, 
As marched back to 'Eadquarters, plus the fightin' 

and the stink; 
There wosn't one among us who could s'y a blinkin' 

word, 
And as fer eatin' breakfast, why, that 'ere wos just 

absurd. 

'Twas in the line of dooty, yuss, of course that 'ere's 

all right ; 
We 'ad ter to do it; yuss, no doubt, just as we 'ad 

ter fight; 
But I, fer one, would give a lot, if I could quite 

fergit 
That 'uddled little figure, and the misery of it. 



[ 15 ] 



'TOMMY" RHYMES 



ON THE JAMBOUREE 

II, TER lie in peace and listen, and just gaze — 

gaze — gaze, 
At 'er little feet a trippin' while they plays — plays — 

plays 
The intoxicytyn' fiddle and the drum — drum — drum, 
With a tyste or two occasional, of rum — rum — rum. 

O, the twinkle and the lightness of 'er feet — feet — 

feet 
Goes a tricklin' down me eart-strings like a beat — 

beat — beat ; 
'Twill be 'ell termorrer mornink in the trench — 

trench — trench 
Down among the blinkin' minnies and stench — stench 

stench. 

But terd'y we are livin', and it's love — love — love ; 
'Tis the billin' and the cooin' of the dove — dove — 

dove; 
Oh 'ell ! we're only tystin' of the sweet — sweet — sweet, 
And our 'ambones is the anchors to our meat — ^meat 

— meat. 

[16] 



ON THE JAMBOUREE 

Fer temorrer comes the whistle and the scream — 

scream — scream, 
When the memory of rollickin's a dream — dream — 

dream, 
We shall all be back and muckin' in the mud — mud 

— mud. 
In the splittin', and the crackin', and the thud — 

thud — thud. 
Can yer blyme a blinkin' Tommy when 'e's out — out 

— out. 
For 'is flirtin', and 'is guzzle, and 'is shout — shout — 

shout ? 
Can yer blyme 'im fer forgettin' 'e's a man — man — 

man? 
You're a blighter, and yer knows it, if yer can — can 

— can. 



[17] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

TOMMY SEARCHES 

V^H, I dunno? I 'ardly think I knows just wot I 

think. 
It sometimes enters inter me that we are on the brink 
Of somethin' bigger than we knows, which mykes no 

blinkin' sound, 
Yet follers 'ard upon our 'eels as we goes round and 

round. 

It stands ter reason, don't it now, that wot's beyond 

our sight 
Is really there, just as we're 'ere; and wot we see at 

night, — 
Those throbbin' balls in empty spyce, — can only 

point the w'y 
To others far be^'ond 'em all, and so on, I might s'y. 

The four years 'ell 'as myde me think quite different 

of late. 
It 's myde me see that life at best is nothin' but a gate 
Ter some queer kind of garding, yuss, like Eden was, 

yer know, 
Before Eve found the apple there, and 'ate began 

ter show. 

[18] 



TOMMY SEARCHES 

Now every kid that's born right now knows nothink 
of the war, 

Will read it all as 'Istory, just that and nothink 
more, 

But you and me as sawed it all, the four years bleed- 
in' gyme. 

Are sure we knows the 'ole of it, but do we, just the 
syme? 

We knows the part we took in it, and that is all we 

knows, 
And all the rest outside o' that, is 'ears'y, I suppose ; 
So don't yer think wot's in ourselves, and wot we do, 

yer see. 
Is all we're shore of in this life and all eternity? 

I'd 'ate ter think those pals o' mine who died and 

left me 'ere 
'Ave LOST all sense of 'appiness, who 'ad no sense 

of fear; 
Who, countin' nothin', went right on, ter bryvely 

meet their doom. 
Must lie there everlastin' in the darkness of the tomb. 

It don't seem right that this should be, and if not, 
why, they're 'ere, 

[19] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

Not sorrowln', lamentin' like, but bringin' us good 

cheer ; 
A tryin' 'ard ter myke us know, that wot we see and 

'ear 
Is just ourselves, and nothink else, and wot we don't, 

IS FEAR. 

Wot worried me in this 'ere war, wos not the things 

I knew. 
But wot I just expected, see, might soon be orful 

true, 
I didn't think of dyin' wunce, and yet I wos afryde 
Of wot might 'appen to this flesh of which me body's 

myde. 

Ter sum it up; I aint afryde no more ter think the 

dead 
Comes in and out me room at night when I am in me 

bed; 
Fer when I sleeps, I seldom dreams these nights, but 

lie in peace. 
And when I wykes I seems ter know new wonders 

never cease. 



[20] 



G 



ON THE TRYNE 



ON THE TRYNE 



OOD mornin' Sir — I'll move me bag, 

There's lots of room in 'ere — 
Don't mention it — its quite all right, 

No, no ! I'd call it queer 
If I could 'ave the nerve ter think 

I owned this blinkin' tryne 
Becos' I've 'anded out the price 

Ter ride in one agyne. 

O' course 'twas "transportytion free" 

When I wos in the war, 
And lots of other things wos free 

Fer which I paid before; 
They didn't charge me nothink when 

I left me 'ome and wife, 
Nor did they s'y a word abart 

The riskin' of me life. 

This tryne goes f arst ! Perhaps It does ! 

It don't seem so ter me, 
Fer I wos in the flyin' gyme 

Out there in France, yer see ; 
There never wos a single time 

When I wos in the air 
[21] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

I didn't think wot blinkin' snails 
The trynes wos, over there; 

Like caterpillers on the move 

They crawled from plyce ter plyce, 
While, up above, I 'ummed erlong 

Me motor singin' nice, 
The puff balls from the Archies myde 

The artificial cloud 
Ter illustryte me angel wings 

Of which I wos so proud. 

And down below me wos the earth 

Where 'uming beings fought, 
Where every man that crawled erlong 

Wos either sold or bought. 
But I wos free, above the lot, 

A king in everythink, 
Above the roar, above the dirt, 

The trenches and the stink. 
I'd 'card of cooties, dugouts, filth — 

But that wos all I knew 
Of sich like things, fer I wos clean 

And 'ad a lovely view ; 
So there I sat, a droppin' bombs 

On top of 'Eine's 'ead ; 

[22] 



ON THE TRYNE 

(Not out of stinkin^ Zeppelins 
When children was in bed,) 

But in the sunshine and the blue, 

A livin', shinin' mark 
Fer any gun that might be trained — 

{Not sneakin' in the dark.) 
That's why I say that I wos free 

As any blinkin' bird; 
For, arter all, in times of peace 

A gun is there, I've 'eard, 

Fer every bird that's on the wing 

That 'uming beings eat ; 
And there I wos, the self syme thing, 

Ter serve as 'Eine's meat. 
Now, in this tryne, we, as it were. 

Are in the creature's guts 
That's breathin' steam and dirty smoke, 

Which covers us with smuts : 

But, up out there, above the clouds, 

I didn't 'ave no dirt. 
So I wos free and close ter Gawd 

Where death could do no 'urt. 
And bein' closer than the rest 

As burrowed in the earth, 

[23] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

I 'ad the charnce of findin' out 
'Ow little life is worth. 

You're gettin' aht ? I'm sorry, Sir ! 

Of course I'll shyke yer 'and; 
I'm glad yer think the flyin' corps'. 

The finest in the land: 
Canydians, Austrylians, 

Yuss, 'Ighlanders as well, 
Wos all the syme in that there lot 

That tysted 'ev'n and 'ell. 



[ 24 ] 



SOFTIE 



SOFTIE 



A 



SORTIN' turnips in a field 
She stood, — and round 'er, — war! 
'Er father wos a ne'er-do-well, 
'Er mother — well ! — an 'aw, 

'Er misty eyes — ('ow blue they wos !) 
Looked miles and miles away, 

As though they read and understood 
The night beyond the day; 

As though they fathomed why the man 
Wot goes ter war's a beast — 

She knew that, later, well enough, 
Ter s'y the very least. 

They faced a foe no crueller 

Than 'er's, — the kind she faced; 

Wot seal was worse upon 'er fate 

Than this, which war 'ad traced? 

Ter see 'er standin' there did this: 
Stripped bare the nyked fact 

That man 'as charged a toll on life 
By each forbidden act. 

[25] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

'Twas ard ter watch 'er workin' there 
Till, som'ow, you could feel 

The 'avoc round 'er wos the dream, 
'Er thoughts alone wos real. 

They called 'er "Softie," for, yer know, 
They didn't think 'er wise ; 

But I knew different, for I — 

Saw 'eving through 'er eyes. 



[ 26 ] 



RATS 



RATS 



I 



DISREMEMBER, seems ter me 

Me mjtey's second nyme, 
E 'ad one, ter be sure 'e 'ad, 

But there, it's all the syme, 
t doesn't matter, not a scrap; 

I alius called 'im Rats, 
lecos' 'e 'ad an 'orror, like, 

Of any kind of cats. 

S wos a most peculiar chap; 

I sometimes thought, at first, 
5 'ad a screw loose somewheres, fer 

'E suffered from a thirst 
s I 'ad never seen before, 

'E'd drink all kinds of stuff 
hat you and me would 'ate ter touch 

And never get enough. 

le night we wos in number six, 

A blarsted list'nin post; 
ir only light a candle, which 

Would larst an hour at most, 

[27] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

When Rats looked parst me frigid, with 
A fyce as white as chalk, 

At somethink right be'ind me, which 
Wos there, but couldn't talk. 

I felt me 'air a risin', and 

A shiver down me back; 
And wyted, 'orror-stricken, in 

The darkness, the attack 
I felt wos comin' towards me, as 

I saw me mytey's fyce ; 
'Is droppin' jaw wos frightful, and 

'Is eyes, they wosn't nice; 

A chokin' fear just gripped me, fer 

It seemed I 'eard a scream 
Would turn yer blood ter water, if 

Yer 'eard it in a dream; 
And arter this a wailin', like 

An 'aunted soul in pain. 
Which froze yer to the marrow, yuss, 

Till you wos 'arf insane. 

We both of us stood shakin', no. 
Just quakin' is the word ; — 

Wot blinkin' fools the both of us — 
We must 'ave looked absurd! 
[28] 



RATS 

The reason wos so foolish that 
I 'ates ter stop and think 

Wot trifles may cause terror and 
Can put yer on the blink. 

Now Rats 'ad been a drinkin' 'ard 

Of stuff 'e tried tyr myke 
Of raisins, rice, and sich like things 

That 'e could steal or tyke : 
'E'd stoppered up a shell case, where 

'E kept the beastly mess, 
Which smelled like fifty corpses in 

A row, I must confess. 

The noise I 'eard be'ind me wos 
The stopper workin' loose; 

The wailin' wos the whistle of 
The farst escapin' juice; 

And as fer Rats — the D. T.'s laid 
'Im low that wery night. 

And I 'ad all I wanted of 
That soul-possessin' fright. 



[29] 



'TOMMY" RHYMES 



ON 'AMPSTEAD 'EATH 



T 



HERE'S a lonely little cross out there 

one end of Vimy Ridge, 
A little cross I myde meself, 

a piece of broken bridge — 
I carved Bill's nyme upon it, yuss, 

the wery d'y we went 
Ter jine the corps of engineers 

whose ranks wos well nigh spent. 

There isn't much of Bill out there 

within the lonely gryve, 
A shred or two of uniform, 

and bits I tried ter syve; 
I aint quite shore as all of it 

wos Bill, or someone's pa 
Among these kids on 'Ampstead 'Eath, 

that's plyin' where we are. 

I often thinks 'ow strynge it is 

I seems ter see 'is fyce 
Now 'ere, now there, among the crowd 

as wisits this 'ere plyce ; 

[30] 



ON 'AMPSTEAD EATH 

I'm back 'ere now, upon the job, 

right on me roundabout. 
The horgin jAys, the 'orses prarnce, 

the children larf and shout : 
But some'ow all the spirit's gone 

from everythink ter me, 
Fer Bill don't run the engine now, — 

although 'e's ^ere, yer seel 
Don't larf ! — I'm tellin' yer the truth 

I knows 'e comes and goes, 
Although 'is body went ter bits, — 

'is 'ands as well as toes — 

'E comes and tells me wot ter do 

when anythink goes wrong, 
And 'elps me in a 'undred w'ys 

each time 'e comes erlong. 
It's wery wonderful ter me 

ter 'ear 'im laugh and chat, 
'E reely 'asn't chynged a bit; — 

that's wot I'm gettin' at! 

They thinks that since the war I'm cracked, 

a little off the top, 
Becos' I gets ter talkin' loud 

at times around the shop; 

[31] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

But they carnt 'ear the answers, which 

is loud enough ter me, 
Nor understand me when I says 

it's just "telepathy." 

There wos a time I didn't know 

that that there thing exists. 
Which now, ter me, is just as real 

as these 'ere grimy fists: 
I sees and feels me fists, it's true 

but why? — I alius arsks, 
Becos' when I am farst asleep 

they might as well be carsks — 

Fer all the good they do ter me 

or all I knows or cares ; 
Where is me mind when I'm asleep, 

which now me body shares? 
It's all too deep fer me, I know, 

and yet I'm satisfied 
That Vimy Ridge and 'Ampstead 'Eath 

ter Bill — are side by side. 



[32] 



'ARF A NOTION 



'ARF A NOTION 

V^H! yer 'aven't 'arf a notion 'ow yer next door 

neighbor feels, 
'E might even be a poet, or a cove wot robs or steals. 
Or 'e might work on a railway, or the work'us, 

brykin' stones, 
But in a trench beside yer 'e's a 'eap of flesh and 

bones. 

We were all a lot of cog-wheels, in the varst machine 

of war 
And our energy wos needed, for it dwelt within our 

gore; 
So they knowed enough ter feed us with the necessary 

food 
That would set the wheels a whirrin*, and would keep 

'em at it good. 

'Twas the chap who functioned 'igher, who 'ad got 

ter 'ave the faith 
In a certain subtle somethink, which to us, wos like 

a wraith, 
Fer 'e 'ad ter furnish ideas, 'ow ter drive the varst 

machine, 

[ 33 ] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

That would do the work 'e called for — you can tell 
just wot I mean. 

Wot's the use of mincin' matters ; wars is cruel, fierce, 

unjust. 
And we're there as individuals fer the reason that we 

must 
Thrust aside our own conception of the proper w'y 

ter live, 
For the privilege of knowin' that our life is ours ter 

give. 



[ 34 ] 



THE LUCKY BLIGHTER 



THE LUCKY BLIGHTER 

V_//H ! the blinkin' path of glory 

Wos so everlastin' gory 
That it turned a Tommy's stummick as 'e trampled 

through the mud; 
It wos 'ard ter overwhelm it 

While 'is blarsted drippin' 'elmet 
Kept a soakin' of 'is shoulders till it chilled 'is wery 
blood: 

'E wos comin' to it slowly 

In a w'y that wosn't 'oly 
That the blighters in 'eadquarters wos a sittin' round 

the fire, 
And 'e couldn't see no reason 

W'y the 'ell it wosn't treason 
Fer the lot to tyke it easy just becos' of rankin' 
'igher. 

I'm a doin' of me dooty, 

Thinks 'e, reachin' fer a cootie 
Which 'ad some'ow lost it's bearin's, and wos crawlin' 
down 'is spine; 

[35] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

And I'm muckin' in the mire, 

While they squats around the fire — 
And I'd like ter know the reason why they 'as it all 
so fine. 

All that night 'e kept revolvin' 

And a spendin' time resolvin' 
'Ow 'e wouldn't answer roll call if they gyve 'im arf 

a charnce; 
'E wos sick and tired of servin', 

So 'e thought 'isself deservin' 
Of a little better billet than 'e 'ad that night in 
Frarnce. 

But 'e chynged 'is mind next mornin' 

In the front line trench 'e'd gone in, 
When 'e 'eard the thing that 'appened at 'eadquarters 

in the night, 
Fer the bally lot wos blown up 

In a cloud of debris thrown up 
When an extra 'eavy coal box came from 'Eine out 
of sight. 

Arter this 'e quit 'is grousin' 

Neither did 'e do no sousin' 
When at last 'e copped 'is blighty and 'e reached *is 
'ome and wife, 

[36] 



THE LUCKY BLIGHTER 

Fer it started 'im ter guessin' 

And to arterwards confessin' 
That the only lucky blighter wos the one who syved 
'is life. 



[ 37 ] 



TOMMY" RHYMES 



'OW 'ABAHT THE COOK? 

J. WOS a regimental cook ; yer see, I aint a cove 

As knows wot's wot in everythink, and yet I think 
I've strove 

As 'ard ter understand the gist of all that 'appens 
now — 

(Fer war 'as myde a difference, a big one, you'll 
allow) — 

As any bloke who's 'ad the charnce ter know the in- 
side track 

Of policies and leagues and things which stytes 'ow 
white is black. 

We've licked the 'Un, but not fer long, — the Kaiser 

is alive 
And thinkin' too, I 'ave no doubt, 'ow 'e can best 

contrive 
Ter put 'isself where 'e belongs, and that is, in 'is 

mind, 
A notch ahead of all of us, so we are left be'ind. 
I'll tell yer this ; 'e aint alone in wantin' ter advarnce, 
Fer most of us would do the syme, if we 'ad 'arf a 

charnce. 

[38] 



OW 'ABAHT THE COOK? 

It stands ter reason, don't it now, that 'e 'as lots of 

time 
Ter think out w'ys and means a bit, and practice 

'ow ter climb 
From out the pen 'e's in right now, the 'Olland type, 

I mean, 
Which gives a chap an 'oliday, a nice bright chynge 

of scene; 
Besides the time ter plot and scheme ter get back to 

Berlin; 
Rememberin' Napoleon, the fix tliat 'e wos in. 

I 'ave no doubt there's lots of folks in Rooshia would 

be glad 
Ter see old Willym back again with all 'e ever 'ad. 
And, in addition, wot the Tzar 'ad put aside fer 'im, 
Before the Bolshi's got it all, and tore it limb from 

limb. 
They've got the 'ole thing in their 'ands, both 

Trotsky and Lenine ; 
The w'y they growls is ominous, these bears be'ind 

the scene. 

There aint no question in me mind, that labor's now 

on top, 
Yet, underneath it, boilin' 'ard, another kind of slop 

[39] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

Is tryin' 'ard ter lick the scum from off the top, it 

seems, 
By boilin' over on the stove — (that's where the fire 

gleams) — 
Fer this, they think, will do the trick, and is the 

only w'y 
Ter get rid of impurities At least, that's wot they 

s'y. 

But all of them fergit the Cook! The one who 'olds 

the spoon; 
Who's managin' the 'eat and things, the one who, 

very soon. 
Will skim the stuff ter suit 'isself — and turn off all 

the 'eat, 
Ter give the best of us a charnce, fer '^'5 a coolcvrC 

MEAT. 
I don't care wot yer calls the cook, nor wot yer 

thinks 'e is, 
There's one thing sure, and that's enough — 'es really 

knows 'is biz. 

'E stands so 'igh, this Cook of ours, above our silly 

'eads 
That, knowin' that 'is 'ands is there, we still think 

we're the reds, 

[40] 



'OW 'ABAHT THE COOK? 

The one pertic'ler brand of blood that's goin' ter 

syve the age, 
By boilin' over on the stove a lot of 'ate and rage. 
That shows 'ow foolish men can be who wants ter 

'ave their w'y, 
They thinks they gets it, but, at last, the cheek's 

fer them ter p'y. 

A cook once told an awful truth, and this is 'ow it 

goes: 
'Too many cooks will spoil the broth,' there's only 

one who knows. 
And in 'is 'ead the knowledge reigns, that we are 

nearly done. 
And so 'e regulytes the 'eat, and stirs us one by one 
Just round and round with 'is big spoon, a watchin' 

all the while 
Ter keep us in the pot, fer 'e, just knows we 'as 

ter bile. 



[41] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

TOMMY DURING A THUNDERSTORM 

V^ W I wonders if I'm wiser, now this 'ere war 's at 

an end, 
Fer the fireworks from 'eving seems a puny thing ter 

send, 
All this thunderin' and lightnin' aint a marker 'gainst 

the war 
Which could rend a bloke ter mincemeat, leavin' 

nothin', even gore. 

I wos talkin' ter a sargint, yuss, 'twas out there 

Wipers w'y, 
And the larks wos singin' madly, fit ter split their 

throats, I s'y, 
When a minnie dropped from 'eving, and it copped 

the sargint fair, 
Fer a moment I wos blinded, then — the sargint wasn't 

there. 
All the 'ole of 'im wos missin', not a single thing ter 

show, 
'E wos empty as a bubble when it's bursted, don't yer 

know. 
And it started me ter thinkin', and a doubtin', on 

the 'ole. 
If the man inside 'is carcass is the keeper of 'is soul. 
[42] 



TOMMY DURING THUNDERSTORM 

Now the sargint went out suddint, and 'e 'adn't time 

ter think 
'Fore the bloomin' thing 'ad 'appened, while I'd 

'ardly time ter blink ; 
Yet the 'ole of 'im wos missin' — 'e 'ad wanished, 

don't yer see ; 
'Ow the 'ell 'is soul went with 'im is a mystery ter me. 

If yer sees a corpse beside yer, why, yer knows the 

man is dead, 
Yer can see 'is feet and stummick, and 'is eyes is in 

'is 'ead; 
But this kind of disappearin', leavin' nothin', not a 

tryce, 
Is the thing ter set yer guessin' wot is wot in time 

and spyce. 

Now I longs fer educytion, like the chaps as knows 

wot's wot. 
When it comes ter doin' wonders with the cold and 

with the 'ot, 
Fer it seems ter me the sargint is a livin', though 'e's 

dead. 
And I 'ears 'im talkin' constant, when I'm lyin' in me 

bed. 

[43] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

'E wos tellin' me a story just that moment when 'e 

went 
'Bout a little kid of 'is'n that the dear good Lord 

'ad sent; 
I could see 'is eyes a swimmin', when the blinkin' 

minnie cyme 
And it busted in 'is middle; — Gawd! — ^just think of 

dyin' gyme. 

Fer the fraction of an instant, like that lightnin' 

wos just now, 
I could see 'is fyce a glowin', and 'twas lighted up, 

I vow, 
With a light of blyzin' splendor that I'll never see 

agyne. 
Till in turn my soul goes uppards, leavin' earth and 

all it's pyne. 

No, — yer carn't tell me it's wisdom that the hody 

learns while 'ere, 
Or the sargint would 'ave knowed it, and would tell 

me, never fear. 
When 'is spirit seeks me pillow, and 'is woice sounds 

in the night 
Like a flock of shinin' angels, which is there, hut out 

of sight. 

[44] 



THE WORLD'S REORGANIZIN' 



THE WORLD'S REORGANIZIN' 

1\| OW the world's reorganizin', f er it's 'ad its little 

spree, 
And it's got its little 'eadache fer its payment, don't 

yer see ; 
There's no doubt about the outcome when we does a 

thing too much. 
For we're bound ter come a cropper, and be 'untin' 

fer a crutch. 

Oh, wot a blinkin' chump 'e is 
Who tykes a drop too much; 

Fer 'e's bound ter come a cropper 
And be 'untin' fer a crutch. 

So we're leanin' on our crutches now, the riches that 

we found 
At the bottom of the muck-'eap, but they won't go all 

around. 
And there's lots of wretched beggars with not 'arf 

enough ter live 
And a mob of greedy duffers who would rather die 

than give. 

[45] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

Oh, wot a blinkin' chump 'e is 
Who hasn't learned ter give; 

Fer 'e's bound ter come a cropper 
When the beggars learn ter live. 

For there's somethin' comin', sure as fyte, ter iron 

out the rags, 
And ter smooth out all the wrinkles in the empty 

money-bags, 
And the world's reorganizin', not alone fer you and 

me. 
But for them as died ter syve us, and ter teach 

democracy. 

Oh, wot a blinkin' chump 'e is 
Who won't wyke up and see, 

Fer 'e's bound ter come a cropper 
When 'e meets democracy. 



[46] 



TRYIN' TER FERGET 



TRYIN' TER FERGET 

IV IGHT in the thick of it—lor ! I wos sick of it, 
Gawd ! 'ow I 'ated the blisterin' war, 
'Ated the 'ole of it, clean ter the soul of it. 
Right in the middle of murderin' more. 

Loathin' each d'y of it, what can I s'y of it 
Other than call it a thunderin' shyme, 
'Ow we wos 'urled in it, yuss, and wos whirled in it 
Whether or no we wos 'arf dead or gyme. 

Am I fergettin' it, all that I met in it, 
Would I be lyin' ter s'y that I am? 
Yuss, I am shore of it, fer I thinks more of it 
Now that it's done and I don't give a damn. 

What 'as your bayonet, red, got ter s'y on it 
When you are wipin' its length on some 'ay — 
'Ot with the 'ell of it, rank with the smell of it — 
Other than 'atred and 'orror, I say? 

'Ow can I tell of it, 'arf of the 'ell of it? 
'Ow can I think when I'm wonderin' yet 
'Ow I got out of it, is there a doubt of it, 
Seein' I'm 'ere tryin' 'ard ter ferget? 

[47] 



TOMMY" RHYMES 



TOMMY TO 'IS WIFE 

X HE 'ouse is silent, Millie dear, 
the children is in bed, 
The clock's a tickin' peaceful like, 

so rest yer weary 'ead 
Against your 'usband's bosom, dear, 

and sit upon 'is knee, 
And let us think this hour, my dear, 
wos myde fer you and me. 

Do you remember, Millie dear, 

afore this blinkin' war, 
'Ow I cyme reelin' 'ome one night 

a shoutin' out fer more; 
And 'cos yer 'adn't it I swore 

and struck yer on the fyce? 
Oh Gawd! me dear, I'll kiss yer now, 

right on the wery plyce. 

Yer needn't cry ! Yer 'usband's 'ere 

a better, better man, 
Who knows 'e loves yer, Millie dear, 

and mybe, if 'e can. 

[48] 



TOMMY TO IS WIFE 

'E'll myke up fer the part 'e played 

by showin' 'er, 'is wife, 
The 'Uns 'ad brought 'er 'appiness 

by sparin' 'im 'is life. 

The war ain't misery to us, 

now is it, Millie dear. 
It brought us back together, love, 

and took aw'y yer fear. 
Look in yer 'usband's eyes right now, 

what do yer see in there.'' 
Not 'arf a beast, but just a man, 

the man as myde yer care. 

Look in the blyzin' coals, my dear, 

that there's a war yer see, 
The carbon is a strugglin' 

ter set the gases free, 
The fire burns up all the dirt 

and what is left is clean ; 
But for them wery ashes, dear, 

this world 'ad never been. 

Yer 'usband burned up in the war 
the dirty part of life, 

[49] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

The part as shouldn't He between 

the 'usband and the wife : 
Ah ! now you're smilin', Millie dear, 

the smile I used ter miss ; 
Let's start our life all over now, 

and seal it with a kiss. 



[50] 



TOMMY'S FALL 

TOMMY'S FALL 

A LEFT a missus aht at 'ome, a missus and a kid, 
You'd s'y she's rare ter look at too, I'll bet yer 'arf 

a quid; 
And as fer 'im, — well, I don't know, 'e's just a bit 

all right ; 
That's 'ow I knows I lost me 'ead, when I met 'er 

that night. 

I took 'er fer a Flarnders gal, she 'ad a twisted 

smile 
And ankles wot'd turn yer 'ead and 'old yer quite a 
P while ; 
Those wos the keys ter fit me lock, a feller wif the 

'ump 
When 'ome sweet 'ome avos stickin' in 'is gullet like 

a lump. 



The trenches wos fergotten as I walked the boulevard 
A cigarette between me lips, which I wos puffin' 'ard 
When, lookin' down, I saw 'er feet — (mybe they 

wosn't trim). 
And 'igher up two swellin' calves above 'er ankles 

slim. 



[51] 



[ 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

But when I caught 'er eye I choked, — the 'ole of me 

gyve w'y 
And 'ome sweet 'ome went fadin' back ter some fer- 

gotten d'y, 
She 'ad me 'coked, I trailed erlong, and pretty soon 

I found 
The two of us wos steppin' far upon forbidden 

ground. 

No need fer me ter tell the truth, you know it, wot's 

the use ! 
A liar alius proves 'isself by mykin' an excuse. 
But 'ere's the queerest thing of all, I fell so 'ard fer 

'er. 
And she fer me, I knew fer sure, that somethin' would 

occur. 

That mornin' when I left 'er in the midst of drizzlin' 

ryne 

I felt as mean as anythink, and partin' wos a pyne, , 
And when I joined me regiment, the word 'ad come 

fer us 
To 'old the front line trenches, and fer once I didn't 1 

cuss. 

That night upon the firin' step, a watchin' no-man's- 
land, 

[52] 



TOMMY'S FALL 

I gyve meself a talkin' to, fer plyin' such a 'and 
Agyne the gyme of decency, a wonderin' the while 
'Ow soon I'd get the punishment, and in wot kind of 
style. 

I 'adn't long ter wyte ter see ; the 'Un that wery night 
Thought best ter 'ope the gytes of 'ell, ter strafe us 

into fright, 
And pretty soon me blighty came, and copped me in 

the eye, 
And then fer extra measure like, just split apart me 

thigh. 

They rushed me to emergency, and so on to the base. 
Where I wos yellin' all the time I'd win the blinkin' 

race, 
Fer some'ow I wos dreamin' that I 'ad ter win or 

bust 
Against a 'undred demons who wos whackin' me for 

lust. 

There aint no use of argument, we pays up fer our 
I sins. 
And wunce we've done a dirty thing the punishment 

begins ; 
I But this I'll s'y, I don't deny I acted like a cur, 
What busts me now ter bits is this — the wrong I did 

to Vr. 

[58] 



'TOMMY" RHYMES 



TOMMY WON'T AGREE 

r\ CCORDIN' to the lytest chap, we are the 'alt 

and lame 
Who sees all things as others see, and merely play 

the game 
We should be different, it seems, not natural or sane, 
Fer that's the worst that we could do if freedom we 

could gain. 

We ought ter imityte the bloke who says that green is 

red, 
That every man should stay awake when others go 

ter bed, 
We orter focus on the light, not 'ang upon a strap 
To 'elp support us all the while, says 'e, this lyter 

chap. 

An everlastin' bug 'e 'as of reachin' up ter 'eights 
'E wants to fly, 'e wants ter scream, so aeroplanes or 

kites 
Is far too 'eavy for 'is 'ead, and so 'e beats around 
A followin', just like a moth, the light 'e thinks 'e's 

found. 

[54] 



TOMMY WON'T AGREE 

'E 'as, gorblim}' ! So 'ave we ; but we're content ter 

be 
Just 'uming beings in the light 'e's lookin' for, yer 

see. 
We're 'umble, so we tykes the gifts that Gawd sends 

down to us. 
And tykes as we tykes a wife, fer better or for wuss. 

Now what's the use in these 'ere d'ys of livin' hupside 

down, 
A searchin' fer a tragedy ter find a silly clown; 
Of teachin' kids that black is white, and wice-wersa 

too ; 
Of tellin' 'em that packs of lies is all there is that's 

true; 
Yer aint a goin' ter better things by jumpin' off the 

dock. 
You'll never put a bloke ter sleep by givin' 'im a 

shock. 
Unless yer do it with a jolt, intentioned, on the jaw, 
And then you'd be a fightin' man, just that, and 

nothing more. 

I aches fer knowledge, yuss, I do, but not the crazy 
kind 

[55] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

Which seems ter be the fashion now, so isn't 'ard ter 

find; 
So what I want ter know is this, ter bring me kids 

up right, 
That's stirred into this mucky mess, this feller's 

shinin' light. 



[56] 



THE ARP OF 'EYING 



THE 'ARP OF 'EVING 

X HERE'S a time that comes ter all of us 

when we knows quite a lot, 
When the 'arp of 'eving wykes us 

to the knowledge we aint got; 
Though the 'ole of life seems clearer 

than we ever saw before, 
We are swimmin' in deep waters, and 

we'd better myke fer shore. 
'Tis the strongest who is drownded, yuss, 

just nine times out of ten, 
Fer the weaker grabs the stronger, and 

it's all up with 'im then. 
If 'e carnt avoid 'is clutchin' in 

this constant stream of air, 
Which we lives in, as the fishes 

lives in water everywhere. 
But 'ow few of us imagines, we, 

like minnows in a pool. 
Are a travelin' tergether, like 

they're doin', in a school ; 
We are all mixed up together, and 

the foolish and the wise 

[57] 



L 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

Stands the charnce of being netted by 

a fisher in the skies. 
When 'E needs us we are goners and 

we 'as ter s'y good-bye 
To the breakfast, and the dinner, and 

the supper when we die ; 
We are yanked from out the ocean that 

we lived in, don't yer see, 
When the gryter power needs us fer 

'Is livin', seems ter me. 



[ 58 ] 



SISSY THE PINK-UN 

SISSY THE PINK-UN 

X NEVER seen a nicer chap ter look at, don't yer 

know, 
All pink and white and frilly like, 'e surely was a 

beau, 
'E 'ad a gentle biby voice, 'e 'ad, I do declare, 
And though 'e used 'igh-soundin' words, 'e 'ad a lot 

ter spare. 

M'ybe we didn't mimic 'im, us Tommies, on the sly, 

We didn't dare ter do it when the officers wos by ; 

'E took it so good-natured like, just smilin' in a w'y, 

That myde us itch ter 'andle 'im quite roughly, you 
might s'y. 

'E wos so blinkin' gentle that 'e myde yer grit yer 
teeth 

Ter stop from carvin' 'im alive ter see wot lay be- 
neath ; 

From Aldershot ter Salisbury Plain, from Salisbury 
Plain ter Frarnce 

'Is sissy voice just 'aunted us, and fairly myde us 
prarnce. 

'E'd mucked 'is w'y up through the ranks to non. 
com., it is true, 

[59] 



I 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

And though we 'ated all 'is w'ys, we liked 'im, through 

and through ; 
No matter wot we did, or 'ow, 'e never showed no bile, 
And lookin' back, it seems ter me, 'twas that that 

myde us rile. 
Ter see the w'y 'e 'andled things, in slow and gryceful 

curves, 
And be so everlastin' nice, why, gryted on yer nerves ; 
We called 'im Sissy just at first, till Pink-un cyme 

erlong ; 
And though these nymes did seem to 'urt, we didn't 

mean no wrong. 
Ter'd'y I'd give these 'ands of mine, ter know 'e 

wosn't dead, 
Ter 'ear 'is voice come down the wind, and see 'is 

curly 'ead; 
I 'ates ter think 'e doesn't know 'ow much I think of 

'im. 
Or 'ow I'd die ter syve 'is life and do it with a vim. 
It's all too late, fer now 'e's dead, and we are left 

be'ind 
Ter know 'ow blinkin' mean we wos ; 'ow none of us 

could find 
The 'ero that wos there ter show, before 'e showed 

us all 
The finest w'y a chap could die, and like a soldier fall. 

[60] 



SISSY THE PINK-UN 

It 'appened on a Friday night. We'd 'ad a quiet d'y, 
Just now and then a little noise when someone blyzed 

away, 
So, on the 'ole, we wos surprised, when suddenly the 

cry 
Went up the line the 'Uns wos loose ,and men began 

ter die. 

'Twas 'ell ter p'y that night, indeed, it seemed we'd 

'ave ter run, 
Fer soon we found the 'Uns in strength, wos more 

than ten ter one. 
But not so Pink-un, 'e withstood as calm as anythink 
With 'Uns ter left and right of 'im, and did'nt even 

blink 

When one great 'ulkin' Boche set out ter stamp upon 

'is fyce, 
'E girnned, and drove 'is bayonet clean to the 'ilt so 

nice 
That with a grunt, the beggar fell, but pinned 'im 

ter the ground 
As other 'Uns wos closin' in, attracted by the sound, 

'E killed 'em all, yuss, one by one, with only one arm 
free, 

[61] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

But 'ow 'e managed it is yet a mystery ter me — 
And still they came, as thick as bees, and down went 

Leary first. 
And Pink-un saw it, dropped 'is gun, (not thinkin' if 

'e durst) 

But leaped right in and with 'is fists laid one more of 

'em out. 
Not mindin' us, or wot we saw, or 'ow we tried ter 

shout 
Ter warn 'im that 'e stood no charnce unless 'e quit 

and run, 
Fer 'e 'ad nothink but 'is 'ands ter fight with, — 'e 

wos done. 

'E 'ad no ears fer anythink but savin' Leary's life, 
Fer 'e wos just a single man, and Leary 'ad a wife. 
Afore 'e went 'is larst words wos: "Did Leary get 

aw'y?" 
And when we told 'im yuss, 'e smiled; 'e 'ad no more 

ter s'y. 

We buried 'im particular, beside a clump of trees, 
Becos' we knew 'e loved the woods, the quiet, and the 
breeze ; 

[62] 



SISSY THE PINK-UN 

And when the chaplain read the part which says 

"and earth to earth" 
We knew wot blinkin' fools we wos, and 'ow much 'e 

wos worth. 



[ 63 ] 



"TT' -I m,-^^^ 



'TOMMY" RHYMES 



TOMMY OF THE SUB 



I 



F yer carried a 'od, 

Like a regular clod 
On the top of a dump in the scene. 
Now you're under the sod 

Your're a little tin god 
And the poppies above yer are clean; 
For yer did all and more 

In this glorious war 
And are one of it's 'eroes, I mean, 
For, of course, to be sure, there's an absence of gore 
In the guts of a tin submarine. 

If yer served on a sub 

You wos counted a dub 
With a gizzard as big as a pea ; 
And yer 'eard in your club 

As yer did in the pub 
You wos 'arf like an 'Un, don't yer see ; 
Fer the things that yer did 

And the w'y that yer 'id 
Sounded much like a cold-blooded gyme ; 
Yet from captain ter kid, when yer clapped down the 

lid 
You were 'arf of a corpse just the syme. 
[64] 



TOMMY OF THE SUB 

Oh, its all very well, 

But yer life wos like 'ell 
When you lay in the ooze and the mud, 
In the 'eat and the smell 

Of the stinkin' old shell 
And the grind and the noise and the thud ; 
You were much like a bloke 

Who's afraid of a stroke 
When he's 'itched ter 'is bed 'ard and f arst ; 
And yer called it a joke, this expectin' ter choke 
In a blinkin' tin fish at the larst. 

And if somethin' went wrong. 

Why you 'ad ter be strong 
Though yer 'eart pounded 'ard in yer ears. 
Like some 'ellish old gong. 

Though it wosn't fer long. 
It wos ages ter you, it appears; 
Fer there aint one who'd strive 

Ter be buried alive 
If 'e knew 'e 'ad choice of 'is death; 
But 'd far rather dive, as a bee ter 'is 'ive 
O'er the top ter be losin' 'is breath. 

If by charnce you 'ave been 
In a tin submarine, 

[ 65 ] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

Which wos rusty and leaky as 'ell; 
'Tis the devil you've seen, 

You will know what I mean, 
If yer says it and means it as well ; 
Fer you 'arf dies of fright 

In the blackness of night 
When a bomb stands the thing on its 'ead; 
If yer dreams it, — all right, you will 'owl with delight 
When yer finds you are 'ome in yer bed. 



[ 66 ] 



TOMMY WONDERS 



TOMMY WONDERS 



1 HERE'S a bit of good old Adam 

stirrin' in the best of men ; 
There's a bit of Eve remainin' 

in the blarsted feminine; 
And the generytions yet ter come 

in turn will tryce in us, 
The reason why they frets and fails 

and why their women fuss. 

I went ter war, I did me best, 
P and now I'm 'ome again 

Expectin' things ter be the syme, 

and yet — or I'm insane — 
I catch a look in Amy's eyes, 
P yuss. Amy is me wife, — 

That mykes me squirm, and digs down deep, 
and cuts me like a knife. 

And I, in turn, sees in 'er eyes 

a look, occasional. 
That sets me stummick quiverin' ; 

fer when I met the gal 

[ 67 ] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

I 'ad in Frarnce, so strike me pink, 

the self syme look I saw, 
As when me wife meets 'Arry now, 

and sees 'im to the door. 

Fer 'Arry was at 'ome while I 

was over there in Frarnce, 
And now and then took Amy out 

ter 'ave a little darnce; 
Of course there wosn't nothin' wrong 

in that, 'ow could there be ? 
And yet, gorblimy, if there was, 

I'd lick 'im, don't yer see. 

That there's the Adam in me 'ead, 

that there's the Eve in 'er ; 
I knows inside that I went wrong, 

that somethin' did occur; 
And she, per'aps, is thinkin' too, 

she dassent s'y a word, 
Because she thinks I smells a rat 

about wot 'as occurred. 

So there we are, the two of us, 
a sparrin' fer a charnce 
[68] 



TOMMY WONDERS 

Ter catch the other in a lie, 

or in a crooked glarnce ; 
The both of us is fit ter bust 

wif jealousy, no doubt; 
And yet the neither of us knows 

just wot it's all about. 



[69] 



TOMMY" RHYMES 



TOMMY BLINDED 



I 



DIDN'T mean ter bump yer, Sir, 

yer see, I 'as ter grope. 
I'm sorry. Sir, — why thank'ee Sir, 

why, no, — I'd only mope 
If I sat by the fire at 'ome, 

and couldn't see the gryte — 
Yer see, — I 'aven't quite got used 

ter this 'ere kind of fyte. 

I alius loved ter look at things, 

and now I've got ter feel. 
And everythink I touch seems strynge- 

as though it wosn't real ; 
I carn't explain just 'ow I feel, 

it isn't like a joke 
Ter live in blackness like a pall 

until yer think you'll choke. 

Yer tries ter see, that's it, yer tries — 

and nothin' penetrates 
The thick black fog before yer eyes, 

and though yer waits, and waits, 

[70] 



TOMMY BLINDED 

No light can reach yer through the mist, 
and then yer want ter scream ; 

Just like yer does when wykin' up 
from some fierce, 'orrid dream. 

But worst of all, yer realize 

it aint a dream at all, 
And then the perspiration starts 

and beads begin ter fall ; 
Yer feel them 'ot upon yer 'ands, 

and wants ter shriek aloud, 
And wrestle with the octopus 

that 'olds yer in a cloud. 

All that's at first; for, presently, 

another kind of light 
Begins to glimmer in yer mind; — 

of course it isn't sight, — 
There aint no nyme fer wot it is, 

yet everythink yer touch 
Is lighted inwards, so ter speak, 

and so yer cease ter clutch, — 

But gently lay yer 'and on things, 

and see them in the dark ; 
Just like a man who 'ears its song 

can see a little lark. 

[ Tl ] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

I'm not so sure I 'ungers for 

the sight I've lost at all, 
Fer now I'm blinded all the folks 

tyke care lest I should fall; 

I found a lot of love in those 

I used ter 'ate before, 
And more than this, — I've found that love 

is right down in the core 
Of every man I meets ter-d'y, 

and every woman too ; 
Now when I 'ad me sight, yer see, 

just that I never knew. 

So why should I be sorry that 

I've lost the use of eyes. 
If, in me 'eart, I knows I've found 

another kind of prize ; 
The knowledge that I've lost, at last, 

the enemies I 'ad. 
By findin' out that all the lot 

are glad ter myke me glad. 



[ 72 ] 



THE WOMAN HATER 

THE WOMAN HATER 

i.\| doubt I'm free ter talk about the things I saw 

and 'eard 
All through the war, no doubt I am, and yet it seems 

absurd, — 
I know it does, yet, 'onor bright, I 'aven't got the 

'eart . 
Ter give away the 'ole of it, but just one tiny part. 

The 'ole thing wos so 'ideous, so full of muck and 

slime. 
It isn't fit ter put in words, much less ter put in 

rhyme ; 
And yet there wos one spot, I think, that orter come 

ter light. 
And that is 'ow the women seemed ter down a lot 

of fright. 

I've seen a woman, in this war, do things ter myke 

yer quail. 
And do them with a steady 'and, not even turnin' 

pale 
When Tommy 'owled beneath the knife the surgeon 

'ad ter use 
Without an anaesthetic or a little drop of booze. 

[73] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

The 'Uns 'ad lifted all the lot, and 'adn't left a thing 
Except a lot of dirty cloths which we must wash and 

wring 
Before we dared ter bind the wounds that cyme erlong 

so farst 
It looked as though we never could attend to them 

at larst. 

But 'ere the women dipped in quick, and took us all 

in charge, 
'Twas Tommy 'ere, and Tommy there ; "Who left yer 

out at large? 
"There's work ter do ; why, man alive, 'op round and 

do yer bit !" 
And them a larfin' and the while, and smgin', think 

of it. 

I wonder wot there is inside a woman's 'eart and soul ; 
At 'ome they're nice, oh, I don't think ! at least, not 

on the 'ole ; 
They seems so selfish there ter me, ualess I'm in the 

wrong — 
Fer in the war they went beyond us men in bein' 

strong. 

I wos a woman-'ater wunce, but ever since the war, 

[ 74 ] 



THE WOMAN HATER 

Although I'm lookln' sideways yet, I'm really not so 

shore — 
Yet even though they did the things I've spoke of, 

and about, 
The very moment they gets 'ome they starts ter jaw 

yer out. 



[ 75 ] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 
TOMMY THINKS IT OUT 



I 



'M just an ordinary cuss, wot's got a tyste fer 

h'art 
And moosic and the likes of sich, and though I did 

me part 
All through the war ter down the 'Uns — I think that 

war is 'ell ; 
I saw some things, while over there, I wouldn't care 

ter tell. 

It got me thinkin', did the war, with death so blinkin' 

close 
Just all the while, that now I 'opes it aint myde me 

^^morose." 
That wos the Capting's word, 'Morose,' which 'e said, 

kills a chap, 
And blymed near kills a company, if kept too long 

on tap. 

I didn't know just wot it meant, that narsty soundin' 

word. 
And so I arsked the Capting once, and this is wot 

I 'eard — 
As 'is blue eyes looked down at me, as blue as any 

steel — 

[ 76 ] 



TOMMY THINKS IT OUT 

"Me boy," 'e says, "it don't mean you. It isn't 
wot you feel. 

"It's wot the blighter 'as in 'im, wot's alius got the 

'ump, 
"And 'ands out ter the rank and file a most f orbiddin' 

lump 
"Of stuff that ryses all their bile, and sets 'em gainst 

the law, 
"The only thing that kills morale is that 'ere line 

of jaw." 

But 'ere I 'ad ter interrup'; "Wot's that" says I, 

— 'morale' ? 
"Wot 'oly Moses sort of word is that", I says ter 

Carl. 
That wos the Capting's nyme, yer see, 'is father wos 

a 'Un, 
Which goes ter show 'ow strynge is war, when all is 

said and done. 

"Morale, says 'e, "is just like this: yer see the 'Uns 

out there 
"They've got it in their bones and blood — oh no, 

yer needn't stare, 

[77] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

"I mean it. When they're little chaps, they gets it 

like a dose 
"Of medicine each d'y, and so they 'ugs it close. 

"It means the Kaiser's allies first, then Fatherland, 

and then 
"The rest that's left, a mere machine, no matter 'ow 

or when, 
"When once 'is country calls out loud ter syve the 

Kaiser's life 
*'Just stiffens up and drops 'isself, 'is money, and 

'is wife; 
" 'E's got ter do it, don't yer see, 'e 'as no other 

choice, 
"So loses all 'is self control, and even drops 'is voice. 
"Fergettin' everythink but this, 'is natural morale." 
"Good Lord," says I, "that's wot it is. Fergettin' 

'ow ter snarl." 

You've got it, snapped the Captaing's eyes, as plain 

as plain could be, 
'E didn't s'y another word, I understood, yer see ; 
And as I wos 'is Sargint then, I dropped a word or 

two 
To every man who wos 'morose,' which turaed 'is 

*me' ter *you.' 

[ 78 ] 



TOMMY THINKS IT OUT 

That 'ere's the 'ole of it, I think. A soldier is all 

right 
When once 'e sees it isn't 'ira that's got ter up and 

fight. 
'E does it then fer others first, and thus 'e finds at 

larst 
'E's wysted all 'is life before, and so fergets the parst. 



[ 79 ] 



TOMMY" RHYMES 



MUD 



N 



OW we all knows little blighters likes 

ter tell a pack o' lies, 
And its just imaginytion, which 

if anythink's a prize; 
And we all knows 'ow we mucked abart 

a playin' in the dirt 
And the two things went tergether, Lord! 

it didn't do no 'urt. 

It wos mud — mud — mud, 
Which wos born into our blood, 
We wos raised and fed upon it. 
And our lives we're spendin' on it. 
Why? O' course. 

Now we all know edicytion is 

supposed ter mean a lot. 
That the more we knows of everythink 

the 'igher up we've got; 
But I notice 'ow the knowin' ones 

is muckin' more than us, 
And is diggin' in the muck-'eap where 

it stinks a little wuss ! 

[ 80 ] 



MUD 

For it's mud — mud — mud, 
Which wos stirred into their blood, 
And their nurses kept 'im from it, 
So they wants ter gorge upon it. 
Why? O' course. 

Now we both fell in the Flarnders mud 

and landed side by side; 
Per'aps it wos the Flarnders mud 

which myde us both decide 
That wos the lesson we required 

ter teach us 'ow ter stick 
Against all odds ter lick the 'Un 

without a gettin' sick. 

It wos mud — mud' — mud, 
All around us like a flood. 
Every think wos jumble in it, 
Did we 'ave ter tumble in it? 
Why — o' course ! 

It wos wonderful ter watch the w'y 

we got erlong out there. 
For it brought us both ter realize 

we 'ad ter do our share 

[ 81 ] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

In the cleanin' of the dung-'eap that 

our civilyshun built, 
By the plycin' of the punishment 

right on the top of guilt. 

In the mud — mud — mud 
We both spilled our brains and blood, 
Till the 'Uns wos choked within it 
When America fell in it. 
Why? O' course. 



[82] 



THE HARVEST 



THE HARVEST 

1 'AVEN'T lived too long, I know, but war *as 

myde me sure 
I am alive, and that's a lot, indeed it is a cure 
Fer all the foolish things in life — the things ter 

throw away; 
Fer though I knows I'm 'ere just now, I 'aven't long 

ter stay. 

A few more d'ys of 'appiness, not muckin' in a mess ; 
A few more charnces, as it were, of bringing 'appiness 
Instead of 'atred and its kind — ter get the biggest 

bite 
From off me neighbor's property — and do it out of 

sight ; 

I'm livin' now ter do me best — to be quite satisfied 
With 'arf a loaf, instead of all; — ter drop the silly 

pride 
That mykes a chap wyke up too late ter find 'e wos 

a fool 
Ter think the gifts 'e 'ad wos 'is : 'e does so, as a 

rule. 

[83] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

That is the foolishst idea, just think a moment — 

gift. 

Whoever gyve one to 'isself, would know the w'y ten 

drift 
Quite careless like erlong the stream ter finish at the 

bar; 
Tis there yer find the wrecks of men who knows just 

wot they are. 

The only things we 'ave in life are those we gets oni 

trust; 
We orter use them well, indeed, not only ought to — 

must — 
Fer if we don't, no matter 'ow we really seems ter 

gain. 
We're buildin' up, as sure as fate, a future store of 

pain. 

It isn't money mykes the man, it's wot 'e 'asn't got 
'E's lookin' arter all the time, now aint it truly — 

wot.'' 
You never 'unt fer things ye r'ave, now do you, on 

the square.'' 
Unless you think you've lost 'em, or they ain't no 

longer there. 

[84] 



THE HARVEST 

Then, in a trice, yer stop and think — where can 

that thing 'ave got ! 
I know I put it down right 'ere — and now it's gone 

ter pot ; 
I wonder who 'as tyken it — some thief 'as been 

around ! 
And this you're thinkin' all the time until the object's 

found. 

It's givin' counts ! You 'ave a gift ! It's yours ter 

give away, 
You cannot 'old it fer yourself, not even fer a day; 
Fer if yer do — the reason's plain — it never grows a 

bit. 
But starts ter shrinkin' right away ; — that 'ere's the 

'ole of it. 

Fer gifts is kin ter seeds, yer know, you plant 'em 

in the soil, 
And if you're wise yer chooses well, and aint afraid 

of toil ; 
And pretty soon yer see results — the crop begins 

ter grow. 
And then comes 'arvest time, and then: — oh well, 

the rest you know. 

[85] 



TOMMY" RHYMES 



'TIS THEY WHO WENT 

X IS they who went who myde fer you the plyce 
yer 'ave terd'y, 

Who, by their orful sacrifice, 'ave pointed out the 
w'y 

Ter start ter myke yer peace on earth, with good- 
will toward all men; 

'Ave you fergotten who it wos said that, and 'ow, — 
and when? 

Per'aps you'd like ter drown in tears, becos' yer can 

ferget 

So easily the only thing which conquers men as yet — 
The truth — the blyzin' truth — the light that dwells 

above — below, — 
And right within the 'eart of 'earts of all yer think 

yer know. 

Can you ferget, when fyce ter fyce with them as fell 

and died. 
They fell as men, ter rise as stars, which cannot be' 

denied? 
Can you ferget them, live erlong, with just yerself ini 

mind; 

[86] 



'TIS THEY WHO WENT 

Or with the idea that you count becos' you're left 
be'ind? 

ARISE— AWAKE! Yer hour comes! They 'ave 

not died in vain 
Who gyve their lives fer other lives, — in suiferin' 

and pain! 
The worm 'as turned, fer Gawd is just; — ARISE — 

AWAKE !— I cry, 
The sword is 'angin' by a thread that does not fall 

ter-d'y. 

ARISE— AWAKE! Face TRUTH in time, and 

watch time's finger trace 
The 'istory that's bound ter come as race devours 

race; 
We all are one, and one is all ; each mucker 'as a soul ; 
ARISE— AWAKE ! fer 'e shall live, who first accepts 

the 'ole. 



[ 87 ] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

HE, OF LABOR— AND HE, OF CAPITAL 

Comrades In A Trench 

He, of Labor 

I never 'ad no scliooHn'. Now-a-dyes 
A kid 'as 'arf a charnce. 'E often plyes 
Wif other kids that's better than 'isself. 
You know wot I mean ! The coves wif wealf 
Who s'y : "I'll tyke it" when they're in a shop 
Wifout so much as blinkin' till they stop. 
I never 'ad no wealf — 

He, of Capital 

But stop and think 
Old top ! You have the best of it. We blink 
When you are sleepin — fearing that the day 
May bring disaster. Handing out the pay 
As we must willy-nilly, every week 
We sit and scan our books, with paling cheek 
Forgetting everything but you, your need; 
While we are charged with avarice and greed. 

He, of Labor 

'Old on ! That aint the w'y I looks at it. 
You 'ave a lot of money. Well. We 'ooks at it 

[88] 



i 



HE, OF LABOR— HE, OF CAPITAL 

And gits a trifle fer our work — that's all. 

You 'ave a lot, and put it out ter myke 

A profit on the little that we tyke. 

Fer we carn't s'y as two and two mykes five. 

We've got ter spend our all ter keep alive. 

He, of Capital 

Perhaps you're right in one sense, in a way, 
For values should not change from day to day. 
And yet they do for both of us the same. 
If you demand and I supply — the game 
Is played the other way, for you supply 
Me with the coin to pay you with, and I 
Take for my profit — 

He, of Labor 

All ! That's wot I said : 
You tyke it all. We 'ave no profit. Just a bed 
Ter sleep on, Missis, and a lot of kids 
Ter feed and eddicate. 

He, of Capital, 

But who forbids 
That you employ men as I do? Just think 
A moment. Have you less to eat and drink 
Because you labor for it with your sweat? 

[89] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

To pay you what I owe, I have to get 
As many times as much, aye, every week, 
As men in my employ. Am I a sneak, 
A thief, because I make enough to fill 
Your stomachs and my own. I pay the bill. 

He, of Labor 

Ter 'ell yer do. You owns the wery shop 
We trydes in, 'cause we 'ave ter. Pay the top 
Fer everythink we get, because we must. 
While you fill up yer pockets till they bust. 

He, of Capital 

It seems to me your grievance is not just. 
You say you trade with us because you must. 
That is not so. You trade the cheapest way. 
As all men do, who, honest, wish to pay 
For all they get — not choosing to pay more 
Than Is demanded in the common store. 
And as to profits, you are far from right. 
We make no more — 

He, of Labor 

Gorblimy ! Wot a fright ! 
Yer myke no more ! Yer myke it all ! We lose 
All that we 'ave. A fat lot we can choose. 

[90] 



I 



HE, OF LABOR— HE, OF CAPITAL 

We 'ave our wyges. That is all we get 

And work like slyves. I carn't see that you 

sweat 
When you're at 'ome. You 'ave ter do it 'ere 
The syme as me. 

I wish we 'ad some beer ! 
Don't you? See 'ow it drizzles. Ain't it queer 
Ter think as you and me, wif 'Uns so near 
Should be a Talkin' bout the d'ys of peace.'* 

He, of Capital, [^raising himself and peering cauti- 
ously into the mist over No Man's Land, while 
drops of moisture fall with clock-like precision 
from his dripping helm£t'\ 

Don't talk of peace ! This war will never cease 
Until we've licked the Hun for good and al'. 
Come here a moment ! Don't forget you're tall 
And let them pot you. What d'you make of 

that — 
Right over there? 

He, of Laboe 

Where? Oh, there! That's the fat 
Old Boche we got a week ago. I swear 
'E stinks as rotten as a mule. 
[91] 



'TOMMY" RHYMES 

He, of Capital 

Forbear ! 
You make me ill. It's bad enough to know 
The thing is there without your talking so. 
Shh ! Keep quiet ! \^He takes careful aim and 
fires, as his companion hastily grabs his 
rifle and joins him on the firing-step^ 
They're on us ! I was sure 
that something moved — 

He, of Labor [^firing^ 

Yer ain't said nothink truer! 
They're thick as bees. They'll 'ave us in a trice. 
I bagged another. Ah, that's wery nice ! 
Yer would surprise us, would yer? Tyke it now 
Right in yer guts, yer b y sow! 

He, or Capital 

Good Lord ! — we're cut off from the rest. Look 

out, 
It's death for us. What's best to do.? Don't 

shout. 
You're wasting breath. What's best to do — 

and quick .'' 

He, of Labor 

What's best to do! Good Lord! You myke 
me sick. 

[92] 



HE, OF LABOR— HE, OF CAPITAL 

Ter down the 'Uns ! What's best ter do ! Ter 

send 
A few more 'ome, and stick it ter the end. 
Down that there one, 'e's comin' straight — 
[They both continue firing, as the din of musketry 
increases on every side^ 

'Urrah! 
They've broke. There goes the whistle. 'Ere 

we are 
Come on, old pal — 
[^At this moment a shell bursts near, wounding both 
seriously, one in the head and arm, the other in 
the leg and thigh^ 

He, of Capital 

They've got me. Are you hurt.? 

He, of Labor 

Yuss — in me leg. It's covered up wif dirt. 

He, of Capital 

Just wait. I'll help you when I fix my arm. 
It's nothing much, I guess. A scratch — no harm. 

He, of Labor 

[ Watching with dilating eyes, as he sees the bone of 

[93] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

his comrade's arm sticking through the sleere'\ 
Yer call that nothin' much. My Gawd — my 

Gawd! 
Yer got yer blighty now, fer fair. — Oh Lord! 
You'll 'ave to 'elp me, I carn't ryse me leg — 
It feels just like a bloomin' wooden peg. 
I'd 'elp if I could use me pins ter stand. 
Ugh ! Don't that 'urt yer, when yer touch that 
'and.? 
Gawd! Wot a mess. I'm wuss orf than I 

thought — 
Me leg's a jelly. My larst battle's fought. 
I'm gettin' f'ynt. Where are yer, pal,'* — 

He, of Capital 

I'm here. 

But getting faint myself. Our end is near. 

* * * 

Night fell athwart the pair within the trench. 
While both were senseless, dawn arose. The stench 
Of rotting corpses failed for once to rouse 
The two who sprawled, like drunkards from carouse. 
Inert and limp. Noon passed. Then afternoon. 
And evening brought to light a sickly moon 
Before one stirred and broke to feeble groans, 
Accented by the other's feebler moans 

[94] 



HE, OF LABOR— HE, OF CAPITAL 

For water — mother — wife — and all the rest 
That, at the worst, still prove the last and best. 
Despite their wounds, they suffered hunger, thirst, 
And so, recalled to life, they thought at first. 
More of a keen desire to drink and feed, 
(Forgetting for the moment, surgeon's need.) 
One had his iron ration still intact, 
And in their dug-out cigarettes were packed; 
But both were now so weak from loss of blood, 
A yard or two apart in sticky mud. 
That neither felt the strength to move an inch — 
An inch of movement meant an ell of flinch 
For two so badly wounded. Through the night 
They spoke in wonder of their awful plight. 
And pledged 'tween man and man the soul of man. 
Alone with God and neath His starry span. 
At break of dawn, they realized their trench 
Lay now in No Man's Land, between the French 
And British, and the Huns. It meant they'd starve. 
Unless one side attacked again, or die 
In misery of wounds. They could not try 
To reach their lines themselves in any case, 
(For now of courage, both had lost a trace,) 
Unless they crawled, with injured limbs entwined 
Across the gap twixt them and humankind. 
The hours passed — and slowly strength returned 
And then they spoke, as both with thirst were burned : 
[95] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

He, of Capital 

It's — rotten — isn't it ! How far away 
You are ! — It's funny, — isn't it ! — I say. 
You know, — you mustn't — 

He, of Labor 

— 'Ow I want ter die. 
Gawd — Gawd! I've licked the mud until it's 

dry! 
For Gawd's sake, water — 

He, of Capital 

All right, pal o' mine. 
I'll get it — somehow. Cheero ! Don't — don't 

whine — 
You mustn't — 

He, of Labor 

Do yer think it's goin' to — rine.'' 
Oh — I carn't stand it. Oh — this awful pyne! 

He, of Capital 

I'll — get — it! Somehow. Wait — a — bit. Let's 

see; 
I'll try — it. Oh — good Lord! I can't. Just 
three 

[96] 



HE, OF LABOR— HE, OF CAPITAL 

Yards — more. Ah ! Wait — a — bit. For God's 
sake wait. 

He, of Labor 

Go on — old pal — and leave me to my fate. 

He, of Capital 

Hah ! Got — it ! Wait a bit. Just — wait — a 

—bit. 
And very — soon — Oh God ! — be — drink — ing — 

it. 
Don't struggle — ^boy — I'm coming — 

He, of Labor 

Oh, — my Gawd! 

He, of Capital [frenzied^ 

No — I — lay me — down to — sleep. Oh Lord! 
Our Father, — who — art in — Heaven — Wait a 

bit- 
Hallowed — be — thy — name. Christ ! I'm — 

bringing it ! 
Thy — kingdom come. Hold on a minute — 

please, 
Hold on. Thy — will — be — done — God! Oh, 

my knees. 
Are weak. Hold on — Oh God ! hold on — hold on. 

[97] 



"TOMMY" RHYMES 

He, of Labor \^almost unconscious^ 
Mamma Mamma ! 

He, of Capital \liolding the canteen to his comrade's 
lips, who swallows greedily, his eyes bidging'\ 
There — there, old pal, at — last. 

He, of Labor [^reviving with the water^ 

Yes, mother! This is 'im. Oh Mamma! 'Old 
me f arst I 

He, of Capital [fai7its. A minute or two passes^ 
Ah! 

He, of Labor [^pulli/ng at his companion's body, 

which has fallen^ 

Hi — hi — pal ! Ye're lyin' in the mud — 

Tyke out yer fyce — You'll choke ! Look ! That's 
'is blood! 

Tyke out yer fjj^ce — I s'y. [He shakes his paVs 
body, and with a superhuman effort, man- 
ages to turn him over on his sideJi 
Where's that canteen? 

It wos right 'ere. I sore it. Lor! 'Ow mean! 

Oh, 'ere it is ! It's empty ! Not a drop ! 

I must 'ave drunk it all. Wyke up — ol' top! 

[98] 



HE, OF LABOR— HE, OF CAPITAL 

Good Gawd ! Oh beast — beast — beast I wos ter 

drink 
It all ! 'E's comin' out of it, I think, 
'Is eyes is flutterin'. Don't let 'im die. 
Oh Gawd ! 'E is my my te ! I got ter cry ! 
Don't let 'im go ! 

He, of Capital 

Good bye, old pal ! Good bye. 
I'm going. Look ! Alice ! There she is. I — 
I'm coming, Alice. Wait, oh wait ! Don't go ! 

He, of Labor [jriglitened at deathly 

Good Gawd! Oh, bloody 'ell. Good Gawd! 
Oh— Oh! 

He, of Capital 

Not — bloody — ^hell. It's easy, — dying. Look! 
See ! There he sits. Still writing in a book. 
He's counting out your time. You have to live. 
I'm sorry, pal o' mine. What would I give 
To take you with me — 

He, of Labor 

Don't go, pal ! Not yet. 
And leave me all alone ! 

[ 99 ] 



HE, OF LABOR— HE, OF CAPITAL 

He, of Capital 

I'll not forget 
Find me my little book, and — ^let — me — ^write — 
Before my strength is gone. No more we'll 

fight 
Together — you and I. 
[He, of Labor takes a small note-hook from his com- 
panion's tunic, and supports him while he 
writes, frequently pausing for breath, until he 
feebly signs his name at the end of a page^ 
Keep it with care. 
[^Jie gives him the book^ 

And guard it well. It gives to you a share 

Of Capital. More than you ever had 

To spend. — 'Twill spoil you, I'm afraid. Too 

bad! 
But then, you'll need an artificial leg 
And cannot labor, — so — you'd have — to — beg. 
I'm — sleepy. Let — me — down. Go — easy, pal! 
He, of Labor [breaking into tears and rending sobs'\ 
Oh— Oh! O bloody— 'ell. 'E'sgone! No gal 
Loved me like 'im! Wot's that.'' Wot's that 
I 'ear.'' 



[100] 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
015 907 101 J_Jf_ 



